Island



' @einen gratte @anni @fitta JOHN SAUNDERS, OF NARRAGANSETT, RHODE ISLAND.

Letters'Patent No. 69,492, lated October 1, 1867.

IMPROVED CENTRE-BOARD.

TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONGERN:

Be it known that I, JOHN G. SAUNDERS, of' Narragansett, in thecounty of Washington, and State of Rhode Island, have invented a new and useful improvement in Centre-Boards for vessels; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof', 'which will enable others skilled iu the art to make and use the Same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, and to the letters of'rcference marked thereon.

This invention relates to a new and improved mode of hanging centre-boards in vessels, as hereinafter fully shown and described, whereby the centre-board may be raised and lowered with its lower edge parallel with the keel of the vessel, and the centre-board, in case of meeting with any obstruction when the vessel is sailing, allowed to rise and pass ovei` the obstruction without sustaining any injury whatever, and also admit of being readily detached from its trunk at any time, when necessary, for repairs.

The accompanying drawing represents a side view of a centre-board tted in,its trunkz and arranged or applied according to my invention/the trunk being bisected vertically.

A represents the tru-nk in which the centre-board B is fitted, the front end of the latter being rounded upwardi To each end of the centre-board an upright bar, C, is attached by a pivot, a; and these bars have racks b at one edge of their upper parts, a pawl, c, engaging with each rack, and the pawls secured by pivots d within thevtrunk. The centreboard, by means of these pawls engaging with the racks, is held at a greater or less height, as may be desired. The centre-board has an oblique slot, e, made init, said slot inclining backward from its front to its rear end, as clearly shown in the drawing; and a bolt,f, which passes transversely through .the trunk, passes ,through the slot e. This obliqueslot, with the fixed. bolt passing through it, causes the centre-board to rise and fall in an oblique direction; and, in case of the frorit rounded end of the centre-board coming in contact with any obstruction, it will rise obliquely backward, and pass over the latter, and then fall to its original position when let down, the pawls e holding it when raised upward.

vThe centre-board may, if necessary, be adjusted so as to have one end lower than the other, vor. have its lower edge parallel with the keel. I

In the event of the centre-board becoming damaged so as to require repairs, and to be removed from the truuk, all that is necessary is simply to raise the pawls c, and the centre-board will immediately drop down from the trunk, and can be drawn up at the side of the vessel. lhe ordinarycentre-boards, which are hung on a bolt, cannot be detached without withdrawing the bolt; and this is impossible in case the vessel has a cargo in, as the bolt is quite low down within the trunk.

The centre-board is prevented from casually dropping out of the trunk when the pawls c are raised by pins g, l,which pass transversely through the upper parts of bars C C above the trunk A.

Instead of having a slot, e, extending entirely through the centre-board, anoblique groove may be made in one or both sides, and pins driven in the sides of the .trunk to it into said grooves. This, however, is but a modification of the plan above described and shown in the drawings.

The centre-board may be of any desired or proper length. If long it does not require to extend as deep into the water as a short one. i

To enable the oblique slot in the board to slide upward'on the fixed bolt with ease, a roller or sheave may be placed on the bolt, so that it will roll within the slot.

Where itis not desirable to drop the board out of the box without removing the bolt, an oblong oblique hole of any desired or proper length may be used instead ot' the slot out through at the upper edge.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters .Patent-d I 1. The raising and lowering of the centre-board in an obliquerdirection by means of an obllque slot or grooveiand a fixed bolt, or their equivalents, arranged substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. The rack-bars C, in combination with the pawls c and the centre-board B, all arranged substantially as and for the purpose specified. 'JOHN G' SAUNDERS Witnesses Janne Santina', Guantes MAxsoN. 

